THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016

News of Acting Foreign Minister Shoniyin’s appeal for the African Union Commission to reconsider its decision to relocate its Liaison Office from Monrovia to Abidjan, President Johnson Sirleaf’s condolence messages to the Governments and peoples of Uganda and Egypt for their losses and the 15 United States cent increment in the price of gasoline on the Liberian market are stories dominating today’s edition of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES  

AU Commission Delegation  Urged to Reconsider Transferring Liaison Office to Côte d’Ivoire 

The FrontPage Africa newspaper reports that Acting Foreign Minister, Mr. B. Elias Shoniyin is urging the African Union (AU) Commission to reconsider its decision to relocate its Liaison Office from Monrovia to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He said Liberia needs the African Union’s presence here now as UNMIL transfers security to its Liberian counterparts.  Earlier, the Head of Mission at the African Union Liaison Office in Liberia, Mr. Prosper N.N. Addo, said the decision is necessitated by the fact that donors supporting the AU Commission have complained about finances which affected their overall contribution to the Commission. As such the need has arisen for the adoption of austerity measures at the AU Commission. Mr. Addo pointed out that though the office in Liberia will not be closed, the office in Côte d’Ivoire will remain engaged with Liberia until after the presidential and legislative elections in 2017

Related Captions: Foreign Ministry Wants Transfer Of Liaison Office To Ivory Coast(New Democrat), Acting Minister Shoniyin Meets with AU Commission Delegation …Urges Them to Reconsider Transferring Liaison Office to Côte d’Ivoire(The INQUIRER)

Uganda, Egypt Consoled

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of condolence to the Government and people of Uganda, on the death of Dr. Anne Deborah Atai-Omoruto. Dr. Omuruto died as a result of pancreatic cancer on Thursday, May 2, 2016. In a related development, President Sirleaf has also sent a condolence message to the Government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt for the loss of eight policemen on the outskirts of Cairo as a result of a terrorist attack on Sunday, May 8, 2016, the NEWS daily asserted.

Related Captions: President Sirleaf Consoles Uganda(The New Dawn), Liberia Consoles Uganda And Egypt(New Democrat)

Gasoline Price Up By US$0.15

The Daily Observer reports that the Government of Liberia through the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has announced a 15 United States cent increase in the price of gasoline on the Liberian market from US$2.81 to US$2.96 or its Liberian dollar equivalent of LD$270. According to the daily, the decision to increase the price of gasoline is a result of a shift in the perimeter that is usually used to determine the price of the product in the country.

Related Captions: Petroleum Product Prices Increase(The INQUIRER), Petroleum Prices Increase(New Democrat)

OTHER STORIES

Cabinet Reviews Critical Tier Three Performance

The Cabinet mandated the provisional approval for the creation of a National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL). According to the New Dawn newspaper, the Cabinet made the approval during review of the Tier Three Performance updates from the Ministries of State for Presidential Affairs, National Defense, Internal Affairs, Public Works, Post & Telecommunications

Related Caption: Cabinet Approves Nat'l Health Institute… Reviews Critical Tier Three Performance Updates(The NEWS)

Ellen Urges West Pointers

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says there is a need for residents of the Township of West Point to move somewhere else and start something better to avoid being made homeless again by the rising sea. “So, that means you must begin to start to think where else you can go because we can’t continue to live the same way we used to live before” she said on Wednesday, 11 May during a visit with homeless residents in the township. The Liberia’s National Housing Authority (NHA) told President Sirleaf’s during her visit to West Point that it has commenced the process to start relocating about 1,779 families from West Point by next week to a new location behind the VOA Community of Virginia in Montserrado County, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

Related Caption: West Pointers To Be Relocated-Gov’t Discloses, As Ellen Identifies with Disaster Victims (Daily Observer)

Liberia Enters US$2M Fishery Deal

The European Parliament has approved new fisheries agreements with Mauritania and Liberia as Spain is set to be a big beneficiary of the plans. The agreement with Mauritania, which was passed by 585 votes in favor, 41 against, with 41 abstentions, replaces the 2012-2014 agreement, the New Democrat newspaper writes.

EU Ambassador Inaugurates Bo-Waterside Road Maintenance Project

The European Union (EU) has inaugurated a project to maintain the Bo-Waterside road for 5 years, with funding from the European Union and the United Kingdom. Turning over the project to a Liberian contractor at Klay Junction in Bomi County on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, European Ambassador to Liberia stated that the contractors would repair potholes, cut grass and clean diches to ensure the thoroughfare remains functional and not damaged by water, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper reports.